BC PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT (PCA ACT) MUST BE CHALLENGED IN BC SUPREME COURT - Re: Lawyer challenges Ontario Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Acts definition of distress over turkey farm charges There is much more than the definition of distress in the BC Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA Act) that must be changed for animals to be safe from SPCA bullying and abuse. I receive reports of what are clearly bullying SPCA seizures or bullying threats of seizure where the seized animal would be either killed or treated far worse by the SPCA than the alleged abuser. Please understand this issue before commenting. My latest example involves a dog that was sold as a pup by the SPCA to a person who chained him up at four months old. When a neighbour told the SPCA they shrugged their shoulders. AAS was told and the pup was rescued. AAS rehomed this lucky pup to friends 15 years ago. I see this dog frequently. No dog has been better looked after. No amount of money for vet bills and surgery was ever too much. This dog goes on hikes, sleeps on the couch, and is only fed raw food. He is shiny, happy, calm, and clearly in good health. And yet the SPCA bullied and terrified his owner, and threatened to seize the dog on completely spurious grounds. It took a strongly-worded letter from his vet to make them back off. This is one example of many that I have that shows clearly that there is unsupervised abuse by the SPCA of its police powers (a scary thing in any society). Providing for more oversight of the BC SPCA to protect people and animals from the SPCA is the duty of the government. Having the Farm Animal Review Board (FIRB) review complaints regarding an SPCA seizure was a start in 2012. More oversight of the BC SPCA enforcement powers is needed Turkey farm exposure video: https://youtube/watch?v=zw_i1Yxc4Oo From The Kitchener Record: An Ottawa lawyer known for arguing that the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has too much power is representing a Kitchener-based turkey breeder charged with animal cruelty. Kurtis Andrews says in an application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is unconstitutional. He argues the act breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by granting police powers to a private organization without due restraints, accountability and transparency. Aug 13, 2014 Animal cruelty case put over to November By Gordon Paul An Ottawa lawyer known for arguing that the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has too much power is representing a Kitchener-based turkey breeder charged with animal cruelty. Kurtis Andrews says in an application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is unconstitutional. He argues the act breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by granting police powers to a private organization without due restraints, accountability and transparency. Andrews is the lawyer for Kitchener-based Hybrid Turkeys. The company and five of its employees face a total of 11 animal cruelty charges. The workers are represented by Kitchener employment lawyer Pamela Krauss. The charges were laid after an undercover video shot by Toronto-based animal rights group Mercy for Animals Canada caught workers trying to euthanize turkeys by clubbing, kicking and swinging a shovel at them. The video was shot in a Hybrid barn in Bright, Ont. The charges were laid by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The case was in Woodstock court on Wednesday but was put over for more than three months. The Crown only received disclosure (i.e. the package of evidence) from the OSPCA yesterday, so they asked for and received an adjournment until Nov. 20 to give everyone a chance to go over everything, Anna Pippus, director of legal advocacy for Mercy for Animals Canada, said in an email Wednesday. Hybrid, listed in court documents as Hendrix Genetics Ltd., the Netherlands-based parent company, is charged with four counts of animal cruelty. Employees facing two counts each are John Burnard and Kevin Schenk. Facing one count each are William LeBlanc, Ryan Barnes and Matthew Brethour. On the website fixthelaw.ca/ , Andrews argues the OSPCA Act may breach the Charter by incorporating a definition of distress which is unconstitutionally vague and /or overbroad. He goes on to say the act may also breach the Charter by authorizing unreasonable searches of peoples homes, farms and seizures of their animals without judicial authorization or oversight. Andrews maintains his court application is not designed to undermine the protection of animals. On the contrary, if this application is successful, it is expected that the law will be changed to ensure that animals are better protected in a manner expected by Ontario residents. Pippus of Mercy for Animals has said the Hybrid case represents the first time in Canadian history that an undercover investigation by an animal protection group led to animal cruelty charges. The charges are: • Four counts of causing distress by killing an animal in a manner that caused suffering • Three counts of permitting distress • Two counts of failing to kill an animal by a method that is humane and minimizes pain and distress • One count of failing to provide adequate and appropriate medical attention • One count of failing to provide care necessary for animals general welfare. Penalties for workers can be up to two years in jail, said Scott Sylvia, an inspector with the agencys investigations section. The company could face fines of up to $60,000. When the video appeared, Hybrid suspended four employees and later fired one of them. Hybrid is one of the worlds largest turkey breeders. It has 200 employees, 50 barns and 11 farms. The company produces about 60 per cent of the 21 million turkeys raised and killed for food each year in Canada. gpaul@therecord ; Twitter: @GPaulRecord Turkey farm exposure video: https://youtube/watch?v=zw_i1Yxc4Oo
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 19:00:02 +0000
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